How to Do Graston Technique as Scraping Massage on Your Self
Before going to discuss any further of The Graston Technique advantages and side effect for muscle pain treatment, it will better to know what Graston Technique as a massage therapy really is
Graston Technique in a massaging can be said as a soft tissue mobilization technique that is often used by physical therapists, some chiropractors, osteopathic physicians, physical and occupational therapists, athletic trainers to improve blood flow, decrease or relieve pain and improve mobility of soft tissue including muscles, tendons, fascia, scars, etc for their clients.
Furthermore, you can read this article to learn how Graston technique works on relieving pain and restoring normal function of your body part.
When you are in the situation of having low back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, hip pain, knee pain, ankle pain, etc, and you have tried every treatment such as consuming various medicines but nothing has worked well.
In this situation, another option you may think is turned to surgery to help your body in such situation heal and get back to normal as it is
On the other side, you may also think that surgery is not the best cure you will take as another option for further treatment since you know some negative effects that may come to your body in the next coming days.
Hmm, why don’t you try a safe method of massaging called graston technique
Here, you will not deal with surgery that may have some side effects but you can try and heal yourself with just self massaging tool called graston tools
Also, you will not think spending a lot of money just visiting doctor or therapy specialists
Now, it is the time to go back to your training where you were taught in school that there are certain “guidelines” that need to be followed when it comes to treating yourself to get rid of certain pain or muscle tension in the part of your body
Meanwhile, you can follow these tips when you are about to feel pain on your body
If you experience low back pain, be sure to avoid placing excess stress on your lower backs
When getting neck pain, you should avoid neck flexion where you may bend your neck forward or rotation that is to lift your chin towards the shoulder.
Sometimes, you have shoulder pain, where you must try to avoid overhead activities first.
When hip pain comes after, make sure to avoid hip flexion that you can do by bending your hip forward or abduction where you can move your leg outwards.
Treating knee pain on your body can be solved by avoiding knee flexion where you need to bend your knee or rotation that is to move your leg out and around.
As you often walk around, you may feel ankle pain in which you can solve this by avoiding plantar flexion where you can do this by pointing your foot downwards or inversion that you can also do by turning your foot inwards so the sole moves towards the other foot.
Thus, you have been taught that, where if you have a problem with moving a certain area of your body, then it is highly recommended to “play it safe” and avoid those movements explained above.
At this point, be sure to try encouraging your own body to keep a neutral or “safe” position for the area of your body that’s injured.
Later on, you can practice on your own and feel the result
To get the best result, you may need self massaging tools to help you massage the area where the pain is
Some may think that getting graston technique is hard to do by their self and it is for a physical therapist only who has well experience in body part structure
Well, anyone here can be a cure for their own body and you can be your own therapy for yourself
Of course, with this graston technique, you can minimize the side effect of getting treated with surgery when your body part has injured because of something
The best part of having this technique is that it is true that avoiding certain movements can help you recover from soft tissue injuries more quickly.
As an illustration, if you have lower back pain you may often have strained abdominal and inter-vertebral muscles.
And, if these muscles become excessively weak, they can cause the pelvis to tilt and the spine to become unstable.
Then, if this instability is severe enough, it can lead to further problems in the future.
You may think the quickest ways to treat low back pain is to have them avoid extension or bending backwards and rotation or twisting of the lumbar spine.
So, you may need it to massage yourself in such situation with safe massaging tool that you can get with graston tools explained here
If you can do well to your body part treatment with graston technique on your own, you may relieve from lower back pain, muscle strain, painful scars, plantar fasciitis, tendinosis, post fracture pain in the future
Why Most Massage Therapists Use Graston Technique
In China which was whereabouts 2000 BC, Graston technique or is a chiropractic technique as a traditional massage therapy that was developed to heal or to treat a variety of conditions including arthritis, headaches, chronic coughs and colds, menstrual cramps and even cancer with the use of unique handheld instruments with a specialized form of massage of scraping the skin gently
Practically, such unique handheld instruments are designed to help the practitioner identify areas of restriction and break up the scar tissue to trigger healing treatment fast and nearly no side effects coming after
Recently, this technique can be said as one of the most popular treatments performed on the best athletes in the world which can also be used as an alternative to reduce pain reduction and increase function.
Surely, the most important thing using this technique is to facilitate greater efficiency of movement within the muscle and speed recovery time of muscle and tendon injuries.
Anyway, this method of healing uses acupuncture needles to stimulate specific points on the body to reduce pain and improve health.
On the other words, massage therapists using this technique utilizes metal tools that are formed to target the contours of specific areas of the body
The instrument assisted this technique is a kind of soft-tissue mobilization therapy where it will make the practitioner detect and gently break up scar tissue and muscle adhesions
For some people who often do hard work or work out on a daily basis, scar tissue can form during a seemingly routine activities
Then, it can also form over time due to repetitive motion that restricts range of motion
This of course will cause a chain reaction in the body of compensation for that restricted motion
As a result, it can also cause pain and tension at the site of adhesion or at a site of referred pain.
Because this technique activates fibroblasts and mast cells in the area, this makes the tissue repair process speed up considerably.
At the same time, since the scar tissue is being separated and the muscle fibers are being freed up for greater movement, the scar tissue is also being destroyed in that it is also recycled by the body’s natural scavenger cells.
In the usage, the practitioner of Graston techniques is focusing on applying pressure to certain areas of the body with acupuncture needles or other instruments.
It is used to effectively transfer information about the muscles and to create the most effective angle of treatment.
And, it can help relieve issues from trauma including a strained muscle, pulled ligament, tendon or fascia
During the healing process, this targeted soft-tissue treatment effect can react immediately
For those who ever injured the medial collateral ligament of the right or left knee, they may experience swelling, tenderness, and a feeling of tightness and weakness in the knee.
For the first step, the therapist may apply micro-current stimulation at the site of inflammation for a few minutes to relieve pain
Afterward, it will be followed by Graston Technique for a few more minutes to mitigate the scar formation of the acute injury
Then, applying Kinesio-Taping to enhance the long-term effect of the treatment by supporting and bringing more circulation to the affected ligament.
At this point, the friction and pressure of the Graston tool may result in a small amount of bruising, but the treatment itself only caused minor discomfort.
All graston technique process should be applied smooth and calming, which will make the swelling from the original injury decrease significantly
Besides, the stiffness and tightness diminished greatly the next day if all graston technique processes are applied procedurally.
Beyond that, using graston technique can immediately follow an acute injury, and it will be more effective to treat long-term muscle restriction due to scar tissue formation
How The Graston Technique Massage Works
In the practice of doing this graston technique, it may use a cross-friction massage, where brushing or rubbing is needed against the grain of the scar tissue
At this part, you may consider to re-introduce small amounts of trauma to the affected area.
Sometimes, this process may temporarily cause inflammation in the area, which in turn increases the rate and amount of blood flow in and around the area.
But, you may have to worry about it since this process helps initiate and trigger the healing process of the affected soft tissues.
The treatment itself is rendered along the kinetic chain
If you have back pain, you might also need to get a treatment to the hip flexors, abdomen, hamstrings, shoulders, and other regions of the body which often seem remote but are connected through the fascial network.
Generally, the goals of this graston therapy are to reduce your pain and increase function through the series of combinations such as follows
Breaking down the scar tissue and fascia restrictions
These are usually associated with some form of trauma to the soft tissue such as in a strained muscle or a pulled ligament, tendon, or fascia.
Reducing restrictions by stretching connective tissue
This has to be taken to rearrange the structure of the soft tissue being treated such as in muscle, fascia, tendons, ligaments.
Doing the above steps will initiate a better healing environment for the injured soft tissue a little bit faster.
Before doing your own therapy for your pain, it will be better to complete five minutes of cardiovascular activity, such as riding a stationary bike or walking on a treadmill.
If you go to a massage therapist, you may need to get ultrasound or heat treatment to the injured area to warm up the soft tissue.
Afterward, the therapist will utilize the appropriate Graston Technique instruments to scan, then treat, the affected area.
During the treatment, the rubbing or scraping of the affected areas with the handheld stainless steel Graston Technique instruments is needed, where the process is using very specific, calculated massage techniques.
The rubbing or scraping of the affected areas usually takes 30 to 60 seconds per area treated.
At this time, you may experience some discomfort during the procedure.
But it is okay since you will not feel it longer in the future
In the meantime, you may be sore, bruised or exhibit small red dots over the area treated, also known as petechiae.
Remember that if you feel any soreness after the procedure, it is recommended that an exercise, stretching, and strengthening program must be needed to rehabilitate the back and help the injured tissues heal.
As a brief result, your range of motion may be increased and the pain is reduced after the first treatment
Is The Graston Technique Safe or Having Side Effect
Above paragraphs said that Graston techniques can be used to treat a range of different conditions
And, some people have found that graston techniques aggravated their symptoms or made them feel allergic to certain metals used in the tips of the graston tools.
Additionally, they may have severe allergic reactions to the caffeine used on the moxa cigars.
If you choose graston techniques as the treatment option, make sure to tell your doctor if you have any allergies or conditions that could be made worse by the treatment.
However, if you opt to use graston techniques to help relieve your pain symptoms, be sure to consulate to your physical therapist about the kinds of pain you’re experiencing so they can recommend the best course of treatment.
Anyway, getting any treatment for your body will have some minor discomfort during the treatment, but this is a natural part of the healing process.
Still related to the side effect of graston technique, some people have experienced complications such as skin irritation after a graston session.
If you are the one who gets any unusual symptoms after a treatment, always remember to tell your specialist immediately so they can help you manage your symptoms.
The side effects of graston techniques may come up after getting treatment:
Allergic reaction to the tools used in the technique may give effect for some people with sensitive complexion
Damage to skin may also be felt when if tools are pressed too hard against it
Increased pain, bleeding or other symptoms can be regarded as hard effect when the tools are introduced to an injured area of the body
In the medical condition, any new treatment may get some risks involved if you try a new or another method for your body treatment.
Once again, just try to let your specialist know about all the medications that you will be taking in the long run
It may be caused as some drugs may increase your risk of complications.
You can take this into consideration when you get anti-clotting medications such as Warfarin or Coumadin.
Getting the graston technique may cause increased bleeding during the process of treatment if you are taking such anti-clotting medications such as Warfarin or Coumadin.
Note that every time before getting the graston technique to your body, always make sure to ask your doctor whether there are any medications you need to stop taking or start taking beforehand due to the risk of bleeding after having the graston technique procedure.
Notes:
For you to know is that, there will be no peer-reviewed published clinical studies discussing the effectiveness of this technique in relieving lower back pain or neck pain.
Anyway, there is research that has been conducted indicating a relatively high success rate for chronic pain and acute pain from soft tissue injuries
Both in terms of improving your body function and reducing pain without getting medical treatment.
In conclusion, there may be many aspects of this therapy for which we have no certain explanation and no clinical trials or other studies to verify the result in the coming years.
And, the result from one person to another may vary since everyone here will have their own perspective when getting new treatment
One thing that, to get the best result, the process of treatment is really needed and practiced regularly
Graston Technique Reviews
Now, you may have known that the graston technique is a relatively new procedure in the medical situation
Besides, the published research available on this graston technique is limited as well.
And, typical costs for a graston technique treatment range from $100 to $200 per session.
Sometimes, in order to get better results, having acupuncture sessions are often recommended after a series of graston technique sessions, which will cost $100 to $200 per session as well.
As a consideration, such costs above are estimates and they may vary by provider location and whether or not you have other treatment options covered by your health plan.